Identifying New COVID-19 Receptor Neuropilin-1 in Severe Alzheimer’s Disease Patients Group Brain Using Genome-Wide Association Study Approach

Abstract

Recent preclinical studies show that Neuropilin-1 (NRP1), which is a transmembrane protein with roles in neuronal development, axonal outgrowth, and angiogenesis, also plays a role in the infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Thus, we hypothesize that NRP1 may be upregulated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and that a correlation between AD and SARS-CoV-2 NRP1-mediated infectivity may exist as angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). We used an AD mouse model that mimics AD and performed high-throughput total RNA-seq with brain tissue and whole blood. For quantification of NRP1 in AD, brain tissues and blood were subjected to Western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis. In silico analysis for NRP1 expression in AD patients has been performed on human hippocampus data sets. Many cases of severe symptoms of COVID-19 are concentrated in an elderly group with complications such as diabetes, degenerative disease, and brain disorders. Total RNA-seq analysis showed that the Nrp1 gene was commonly overexpressed in the AD model. Similar to ACE2, the NRP1 protein is also strongly expressed in AD brain tissues. Interestingly, in silico analysis revealed that the level of expression for NRP1 was distinct at age and AD progression. Given that NRP1 is highly expressed in AD, it is important to understand and predict that NRP1 may be a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection in AD patients. This supports the development of potential therapeutic drugs to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.